Scholarships were left empty for the dream of filling them with players like Diallo, Richards and Bamba. In hindsight, at least one of them should have be filled by a combo guard for depth, but that is hindsight.
In regard to bigs for next year, we already have 5 returning players and two committed players who could potentially contribute. Vance Jackson and Terry Larrier have already played some four for UConn and they have shown that they rebound the ball fairly well. Next year they will likely both have a bit more muscle. Although it has been subtle, Juwan and Steve have made small improvements in defense over the season and are looking more comfortable on the floor. Steve looked unstoppable on offense for a short stretch against Houston. Juwan has been rebounding better as the year goes along and has been improving a bit on defense. He also seems comfortable handling and passing the ball (rare trait among UConn bigs lately). Mamadou is an unknown, but he has had a year to hit the weights and learn. He was purportedly a high energy guy in prep school who really hit the boards and that is something we really need.
Committed we have Carlton, who knows how to finish inside, passes the ball well and blocks some shots. He needs some muscle before he will likely be effective as a college five. Polley has a very nice shooting touch and attacks defenders on the inside in a similar way to Facey. He will likely still grow a bit, but could play some minutes at the 4.
Among these six, someone will likely have a big breakthrough and the others will show steady improvement. At a minimum six bigs means that up to 30 fouls are available.
Add a rugged, experienced big from grad transfer or JUCO and I think we will be good to go
